Picture : IPL / X – Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action
Five time-winners and desperate for a win Chennai Super Kings were made to work hard in their 5- wicket win over The Lucknow Super Giants in a Tata IPL 2025 encounter, in Lucknow.
Earlier CSK Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to field first. And MSD was delighted as his bowlers kept the LSG batsmen in check right from the start. Due to the pressure LSG lost in- form opener Aiden Markram early for ( 6) ,in red- hot form Nicholas Pooran for ( 8) and big- hitting Aussie Mitchell Marshj for (30) . LSG 73/ 3 in 9. 4 overs. The power play power never came for the LSG .
Battling his poor form and under intense pressure , LSG Skipper Rishabh Pant battled his way back to some form with 63 ( 49 balls, 4 fours, 4 sixes) . Pant surge was very late as he struggled to score in mid phase scoring at run a ball 38 ( 38 Balls) it hurt LSG in their push for a big total . And it proved so crucial at the end . Ayush Badoni ( 22) , Abdul Samad ( 20 ) , David Miller sent in late not out 0 and Shardul Thakur ( 6).
LSG batsmen found runs hard to come by and the finishing was not as expected . One thought they were 20- 30 runs short. LSG eventually finished at 166/ 7 in their 20 overs. The surface was bit on the slow side . And given CSK’s troubles it looked competitive .
CSK bowling : Khaleel Ahmed 1/ 38 ( 4 overs) , Anshul Kamboj 1/ 20 ( 3 overs), Jamie Overton 0/ 24 ( 2 overs) , Ravindra Jadeja 2/ 24 ( 3 overs) , Noor Ahmad outstanding 0/ 13 ( 4 overs) unfortunately went wicketless , Matheesha Pathirana 3/ 45 ( 4 overs)
In reply CSK were off to a steady start reaching 52 in 4. 5 overs. Young opener ( debutant) Shaik Rasheed impressed in his short innings of 27 ( 19 balls 6 fours), Rachin Ravindra found some form with 37 ( 22 Balls , 5 fours) but could not carry on. Rahul Tripathi ( 7) and Ravindra Jadeja ( 9) fell in succession sending anxious moments in the CSK dug- out .
Shivam Dube Makes an Impact with Gritty 43*(37) in Tough Chase 👏
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 14, 2025
Fortunately Shivam Dube stood tall, and played cool unbeaten innings of 43 ( 37 balls , 3 fours, 1 six) and along with Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who played nice unbeaten cameo to delight of fans 26 ( 11 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) saw CSK home reaching 168/ 5 in 19. 3 overs. With three balls left it was not an easy win as it made out to be be it was close one. LSG would regret lack of runs towards the end of their batting.
LSG Bowling : Shardul Thakur had an off day 0/ 56 ( 4 overs) , Akash Deep 0/13 ( 1 over) , Digvesh Rathi 1/ 23 ( 4 overs) , Avesh Khan 1/ 32 ( 3. 3 overs) , Ravi Bishnoi 2/ 18 ( 3 overs) , Aiden Markram 1/ 25 ( 4 overs)
Match: IPL 2025, 30th Match
Venue: Lucknow | Date: April 14, 2025
